Empowerment is now increasingly seen as a process
by which those without power gain greater control over their lives.
This means control over material assets and intellectual resources
alike. It involves power to, power with and power within. Some define
empowerment as a process of awareness and conscientization, of
capacity building leading to greater participation, effective
decision-making power and control leading to transformative action.
This involves ability to get what one wants and to influence others on
our concerns. With reference to women the power relation that has to
be involved includes their lives at multiple levels, family,
community, market and the state.

PROGRESS - Anti Trafficking

The Centre for Community Economics and Development Consultants Society (CECOEDECON) is implementing the project in Kotkhavda Block of Jaipur District with Nat Community. Nat Community is culturally and historically associated with the prostitution and all the girls of this community went to Metro Cities or outside the country for providing their services at Bars, Hotels or such other places. Nat are not mainstreamed with socio – political – economic development and they do not participate in any activity as looked upon down by the villagers.

Under “Nai Roshni: The
Scheme for Leadership Development of Minority Women” run by
Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India, Center for
Community Economics and Development Consultants Society (CECOEDECON)
has successfully completed training of 300 women from Muslim Minority
Community in Tonk District of Rajasthan, in 12 batches, in the
financial year 2014-15.

The training program was started in January’15 and was completed by
March’15. Total 12 batches of women were given training on leadership
development with the help of tool kits and reading materials, each
batch comprised 25 women. Each of the batches was trained for 6
consecutive days by experts of the priority subjects as per the
Ministry of Minority Affairs and other women's issues. We also used
audio visual aids and videos for enhancement of training and its
usefulness. At the completion of the training each participant
received a cheque of Rs. 300.

CEOCEDECON has started the
first three batch of Training on Leadership Development of Minority
Women in Urban Slum of Tonk on 20th of January 2016. The training
is given under the “Nai Roshni” scheme that is supported by
Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India. One batch of
training will continue for 6 days and will cover leadership,
education, life skills, health and hygiene, swach bharat, digital
literacy, legal rights, financial system and advocacy etc.. The
training provides women knowledge and information on their rights,
health and on their daily affairs. To effectively conduct the
training, the organization hires experts from NGOs and takes the
support of experts from Government. Follow up is also being done at
the field level. Under the same scheme in 2014-15, CECOEDECON trained
300 women from the minority community in Tonk and will be giving
training to 300 more women from minority community in Tonk in 2015-16.

Cecoedecon successfully
completed training of 300 women in 12 batches latest by 19th of April
2016 during the financial year 2015-2016 in Tonk Urban areas under
“Nai Roshni” the Scheme for Leadership Development of Minority Women
supported by Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India. The
follow up meetings and activities will take place from the month of
April 2016 onwards with trained women.

Breaking out of the shackles of prevalent patriarchal structures for women
to lead and take positions of power and exercise their decision making has
been a long struggle and still continues to be, not just in India but
world over. There are still many parts of India where women are bound by
structural constraints and social norms that do not allow them to be
financially independent. Empowerment in terms of digital literacy and
financial literacy is still a distant dream for a large section of women
who are categorized as educated and working. Their dependence on their
spouses or sons is also a kind of hidden marginalization, hampering their
empowerment and development.

Empowerment means to inspire women with the courage to break free from the
chains of limiting beliefs, patterns and societal or religious conditions
that have traditionally kept women suppressed and unable to realize their
true beauty and power.

CECOEDECON since its inception has believed in an inclusive approach that
caters to the most marginalized and in a strong patriarchal society such
as Rajasthan with traditions of child marriage and female foeticide widely
prevalent, working with women was a natural extension of the work that
CECOEDECON has undertaken. A holistic approach looking at social,
political and economic aspects of the lives of women; making gender a
cross-cutting area of focus in all our activities and initiatives apart
from implementing specific women centric programmes, the organisation is
considered among those who have done extensive work in women’s
empowerment.

The organization is committed to the overall development of women and for
achieving this goal it has worked and continues to work with like-minded
organizations and institutions like The Hunger Project, IGPRS, Social
Welfare and Advisory Board, Oxfam, FES to name a few. Cecoedecon is has
been making sustained efforts towards the overall development of women by
carrying out interventions in priority areas like women roles and
contributions in natural resource management, women in Panchayati Raj,
micro enterprise development for women entrepreneurs, political
empowerment, promotion of better health facilities, education of girls,
provision of crèches for the children of working parents.

CHILD DEVELOPMENT

The state of Rajasthan has certain distinct features, which have bearing
on the condition, status and rights of children. Its feudal history,
colonial interventions, Strong patriarchy, cultural heritage, diverse
ecology, cumulative traditions and typical institutional practices like
child marriage, purdha challenge the issues and strategies of child rights
in a big way.

A large number of children die in infancy. Those who survive
do not have access to adequate nutrition. Many children do not attend
school; they are not immunized.

The number of child laborers is
increasing. The girl child works at home, looks after siblings and
performs adult-roles from a tender age.
Recognizing the importance of the issue CECOEDECON has always paid a great
attention to issues around the child in its endeavors. Right from its
inception the organization has been working in different capacities to
address the issues related to child development.

The organization has a strong believe that the complex nature of social
problem needs multiple strategies if one wants to minimize these. With
this opinion the organization started working on the Non-Formal Education
model, and has been using it for various interventions.

With the understanding developed over the years, CECOEDECON facilitates
the process of child development with partner communities and provides
opportunities to develop the foundation of the child. In this regard,
organization puts sincere efforts to place parents in a better position to
attend/meet their children’s needs for social and educational development.
Under the child development program we give more emphasis on education
because of many new factors we see in society today. The widening gap
between rich and poor, population increase, unemployment and
underemployment in unorganized sector in particular, socio-cultural
confusions caused under the impact of information technologies are the
main corners at the crossroads and we need to understand them. Education
for our children would require consideration of all such factors.
Education is always perceived as a great tool for bringing about social
change and the organization has always been trying to establish the thesis
through different actions directed towards establishing a just society.
For Cecoedecon, the child development program is not merely providing
education only; it captures all the aspects of a child’s lifespan where
he/she could be developed as an individual of the society that is based on
non-discrimination.